The following background information is provided to assist the reader to understand embodiments of the invention disclosed below and the environment in which they may be used. The terms used herein are not intended to be limited to any particular narrow interpretation unless clearly stated otherwise, either expressly or impliedly, in this document.
Over one billion people worldwide lack access to potable water. Water-borne diseases are one of the leading causes of disease and death in the world. Water systems in developing economies and emerging countries fail about 50% of the time due to complexity of operations, operation and maintenance costs, expense, burdensome to use, not portable, and requiring chemicals and energy. In addition, industries that locate operations in developing and emerging countries are seeking sustainable cost effective water supply systems to provide water to their facilities and the workers' communities. In developed economies, consumers are seeking a more environmentally sustainable life style which includes using alternative energy and fewer chemicals in products, including water. In dealing with water scarcity, there is an increasing demand for rain water and industrial wastewater filtration and recycling using sustainable systems that do not rely on additional chemical treatment or extensive maintenance.
There are multiple approaches to providing clean drinking water such as filtration, ultra filtration, UV oxidation, and chemical disinfection. These approaches are generally small scale, rely on traditional power sources such as generators or an available power grid, or address only parts of the needs for water purification.
Other transportable systems provide clean drinking water using traditional energy sources that produce greenhouse gases and other pollutants. In addition, treatment units that rely on portable hydrocarbon based power generation increase the risk of contamination of the water source. Other solar powered units use combinations of filtration approaches that require the use of disposable filters and UV oxidation to provide disinfection. This type of approach is not well suited to developing economies and sustainable development as it requires significant maintenance work, imported materials, and no residual disinfection in the water. Thus, there is a world-wide need for sustainable water filtration systems with low cost and low maintenance and that use alternative energy sources.